Vesakha is the sixth lunar month of the old
Indian calendar - usually falling in May.

Vesak is probably the most universally celebrated
festival in the whole Buddhist calendar. In the Theravada tradition
it is a remembrance of the three most significant events in the Buddha's
life - his birth, enlightenment and final passing. Tradition has it
that these all took place on the full moon of Vesakha. It is unlikely
that this is historically accurate but that these three events are
celebrated on the same day gives great importance to the occasion.
The day is very much centered around devotional practices; especially
in relation to a recollection of the life of Gotama Buddha and there
are often readings from scriptural texts or contemporary commentaries
of various stories from his life. These would be interspersed with
periods of meditation. Shrines and the Buddha images in particular
will receive a lot of attention on this day.

The coming of a Buddha - an enlightened being
- into the world is seen as tremendously important. The teachings
given by such a being are seen as a light that dispells the darkness
of ignorance and the use of lights or lanterns is common as a way
of marking this festival. In Sri Lanka much is made of this with great
processions and illuminated floats.

A circumambulation [see: RITUALS]
is commonly part of the evening's events and both the monastery
generally and the path walked at this time will often have been decorated
during the day with a variety of lights brought by visiting families.
These will be lit just prior to the circumambulation to illuminate
the way and candles or lanterns will often be carried by those in
the procession..